People are People, No Matter What A couple of weeks ago, I had three profound experiences I feel compelled to share. First, I read in The Washington Post about pending legislation in Kansas that would place restrictions on how recipients of cash assistance (welfare) spend their money. This includes prohibiting recipients from using their assistance […]
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Life Lessons from My Dad, A Rock Star Advocate for People Living in Poverty After more than 30 years, my dad, Jack Frech, recently retired as the director of Athens County Job and Family Services, a local Ohio county entity responsible for administering benefits to the poor, like food stamps, Medicaid, and cash assistance. […]
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Early this month, Tianna Gaines-Turner testified before Paul Ryan’s House Budget Committee during a hearing labeled as a “Progress Report on the War on Poverty.” Gaines-Turner’s testimony was smart, incredibly compelling, and included solid recommendations on fixing problems with our country’s social safety net. Like her counterparts testifying that day and during previous hearings on […]
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What is the result of paying our helping professionals so little, and does it impact their ability to help?
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The CEO of a major organization is earning 20 times the income of his line staff, many of whom must rely on public assistance to just get by. Such a scenario would not a big surprise in the corporate world, right? But what if in this scenario the organization in question had as its central mission lifting people out of poverty and empowering families?
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While the human services community must be diligent in capturing the benefits of new technology, decision-makers must be thoughtful about the unique nature of the work and the impact of integration of new systems.
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In the classic biblical story of David and Goliath, young David, against all odds, conquers Goliath, a massive, astoundingly armored giant, who mercilessly taunted the Israelites. Improbably, the story goes, small overcomes big. Unfortunately, when small meets large in the nonprofit world, the outcome is usually more predictable (though typically less violent). In this […]
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